Thoughts On: If You're Reading This It's Too Late

Recommended listening: Energy, Wednesday Night Interlude, You & the 6

So over the weekend I had plans to study, go to pep band games, and maybe listen to 2 or 3 albums that I added to my collection in the last week. Simple right? Yet as I was going to sleep on Thursday Alex sends me a link to this short film starring the rap megastar Drake. Soon after he tells me that Drake's new mixtape is dropping that night. Less than an hour later the internet is ablaze with hype and I figure I cannot possibly go to sleep without hearing this. So after waiting a bit the 17 song mixtape goes live on ITUNES of all places (like seriously Drake, you couldn't be bothered to just put out the mixtape for free? You don't have enough money?) and I figure I'll just wait for the leak or something. Less than 10 minutes later I found out the whole project is streaming on the OVO (Drakes label) Soundcloud and I start listening there. A few more minutes pass and the listeners go from 300+ to 100,000+. Drake apparently made over $350,000 within the first 20 of his mixtape going live commercially. So in case you missed the point Drake is kind of a big deal to a lot of people. OVO even took the music off of Souncloud after about 30 min in order to persuade people to go buy the music for real. This is essentially the Hip-Hop version of the Beyonce album that the world blew up over.

Now before I get too far into this I think it best I tell you now that I am not a huge Drake fan. Drake is probably one of the oddest figures in the rap game today, known for changing how the genre is looked at in a big way. He has become so large that he is almost separate from the genre entirely. He was even considered to be one of the hottest MC's in 2014 without releasing a full length project. So what makes him so special that he has become a lot of people's go to favorite rapper? He isn't an awesome producer like Kanye, doesn't appeal to the misfits like Gambino, and doesn't really have a huge gang influence like Kendrick or Q, I mean the dude was an actor on Degrassi before he became a rapper. The secret lies in his ability to make hits and his amazing PR. The man is able to craft hits out of anything it seems, from moody down on my luck jams like “Marvins Room” to club hits like “Started from the bottom”. He specializes in “feels”, for lack of a better word, and never really strays from that. Even after we are hit with wave after wave of mood music and or bragging anthems it never seems to get tiring. It also helps that Drake has a fantastic stage personality. In fact I like Drake's media personality more than his music. He is a well spoken and genuinely funny man who never seems to get into scandals or big media troubles unlike a lot of other rappers of the same fame level (looking at you Kanye). This also makes Drake a HUGE punching bag in the Hip-Hop community. Since his music has spread so far a lot of people just claim he is too “sensitive” and not talented in the slightest while the other side praises his willingness to be “real” and so openly introspective. It is a 50-50 toss up. I think his song crafting abilities have carried him remarkably far and his strong features and solid projects cement his stake in rap history whether we like it or not.

So now that we know who Drake is, what does the mixtape sound like? Well for starters the fact that he dropped it with no warning seemed out of character to me. That is something I would expect from Gambino (who just likes to disappear from the world from time to time), and I get that Beyonce did the same thing but it just seems so out of place with such a huge star. So that lead me to think that there is a reason for the drop. Maybe this means that Drake felt the need to celebrate his success in a more personal way, maybe as he ages he is starting to reflect on just what his fame and influence really means, or maybe he is so big that he can literally do whatever and it is a success. I would like to believe that Drake is smart to enough to have some sort of method to his madness, what with the minimal mixtape cover art and surprise drop but maybe I am just reaching at nothing. Regardless if you have ever heard a Drake album then you will not be surprised by this mixtape. It starts off with him declaring himself a legend in the opening song “Legend”, singing over compressed bass and later simple snares. The song progresses and turns into quite the fantastic intro in which he claims that “If I die I'm a legend, reminding you of Drakes signature crafting ability and setting a high standard for the rest of the project.”. The first half of the mixtape seems to focus of his braggadocious style, expressing his relationships with his enemy's and throwing out killer punchlines left and right. In fact in the song “Know Yourself” his hook is just “Riding through the six with my woes” and the way he says it is so catchy it has been stuck in my head all weekend. In the midst of the tape there an interlude, and I personally think (along with a few friends of mine) that the mixtape takes a turn at the song “Star67” and continues through “Wednesday Night Interlude” which is one of my favorite songs on the whole mixtape. The mood shifts to the more vulnerable side of Drake that he is so loved and hated for. Now granted this is just my own personal interpretation but there is a story behind this project that we may have yet to hear in its entirety. Immediately after the 3 song mood shift we have “Used to” in which Drake talks about the troubles of getting used to being hailed as the top dog. Keep in mind he has been big for a while so why the sudden reflection. He also has the song “You & the 6” in the latter half of the tape and I personally feel it is the best song on the mixtape. In this song he is essentially talking to his mom about why he has become what he has become and goes into elaborate detail about his upbringing. It is the most emotionally dense song to me and I love the simple hook and narrative style. In fact this whole album kind of has a feel of simplicity. The most production heavy songs are probably the 3 that make up the middle of the album and the others retain a level of held back production that actually helps emphasis Drakes lyrics and hooks. This may be because Drake has another project slated for release later this year and he is saving beats for that, or this may be an intentional minimalist approach to a mixtape meant to capture a particular place in the rappers life.

As always I could drone on but the gist of it is that this is a very solid project, personally I enjoy it more than his last album (which I rarely have reason to listen to). It highlights the rappers strong points and honestly serves as a record of why Drake is so popular. He created a sound so unique to him that the moment this mixtape starts you can say “Yup that is a Drake record alright”. I am still not the biggest Drake fan but I give credit where credit is due and this mixtape is really good. The shifting themes and solid songs make for an interesting project that may or may not be more than it seems. I am looking for to the release of Drakes new album and I hope that it ties back to his previous works in some other way. For example, a lot of people think the usage of the number 6 in Drakes recent music is symbolic of the him dropping his first mixtape 6 years ago, so I hope some kind of thread is weaved to connect it all. If you are even the tiniest Drake fan I recommended you: Listen Soon as this project shows a maturing artist doing what he does best. If you are not a Drake fan then you can: Save this album for another day. As the blending style and moody overtones may be too much for you to really get behind right away. 

Next week I will defiantly be talking about the new (well month old at this point) Joey Bada$$ album...unless I  get distracted again.

Thoughts On: The 57th Grammys

Welcome back to Zeke talking about things that no one cares about. This week I was going to talk about the new Joey Bada$$ album (which was one of whole reasons I started doing this) but the Grammys continue to irritate me to such a point that I am dedicating this week to shamelessly bash the event. The Grammys are a big deal to me, as they should be to anyone who loves music. Whether you are a top 40 lover or an indie fanatic you should be able to enjoy the show. When I was younger my mom and grandma would watch them and I would hear music and applause drifting into my room from the living room. When I started getting into music my own way I remember my mom being so surprised to see that I knew so much about all the artists who were performing and winning (this was the year Eminem won the Grammy for Recovery). It was a great time to be had.  Em was performing I need a doctor, Dre came out, and both my mom and I jammed out to the new song. However it quickly became apparent that the Grammys are just a farce meant to give awards to top sellers and whoever is the most popular.

Now many of you reading this know that this is not news and it is not. However in the last few years I have found more and more reasons to feel personally offended by how the Grammys are run and how awards are given out. Last night as I watched the Grammys there was weird mix of trying to appeal to a more niche audience whilst continuing to pan to the same 5 or 6 major celebrities just to remind you that Beyonce, Kanye, and Taylor Swift are all in the same place. People come from ALL OVER THE WORLD to see this huge show that is meant to bring different music lovers all together and you just focus on the same handful of people? Granted we all know why this is done but I will continue to criticize the Grammys for what they could and should be. I have no idea how much money is exchanged behind the scenes or why Kanye is allowed to do two performances but that is just ridiculous. As much as I enjoy Kanye's music I would much rather watch some of the performances that could ONLY be seen that night. Where else would I see Pharrell and Hans Zimmer pulling off one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed? This night should be an excuse for artists who may never get the chance to work together again (or not for a while at least) to combine their styles and make some unique shows. Ed Sheeran and Questlove, Hozier and Annie Lennox, etc. You have so much opportunity to just put on the greatest music show of the year but it never comes together as a whole experience for me. Now do not get me wrong I enjoyed most of the musical acts, but when there is a bunch of useless mainstream pandering in between it gets a bit annoying.

I want to watch the Grammys and get turned onto new music that I may not have heard of or had a reason to check out for myself yet. For example when Beck won Album of the year over Beyonce, much to his and the world's shock, I immediately looked into it and got it for myself  just because my interest was so high. There are not enough of these moments in the Grammys. We see all the same songs that we have heard play on the radio or in commercials thousands of times win multiple awards and then that same song is performed live. It becomes a bit of a farce when your music show has the same song playing 4 or 5 times, such a good way to diversify the show. Anyway I think it should be a rule that a single song can only win one award.There are times when I want a song to win multiple awards just because I think other songs in the category are not worthy, but let us share the love a bit huh? This is easily my most outlandish Grammy critique and will never catch on but I just thought it was worth mentioning. Sam Smith won 4 Grammys and I feel like we will not hear such widely popular and well received music from him ever again. Such is the pattern of a celebrity making it big off of one song and then disappearing. All about that Bass was nominated for Grammys as well and I doubt Meghan Trainor will be in the spotlight for a while. Hozier should have won something but again due to Sam Smith;s popularity he came away empty. These are all minor gripes I know but when things like this happen every year it just gets harder and harder to bear.

NOW we get to the real bread and butter of why the Grammys are not the buisness: The Rap awards. The Grammys has a history of not understanding what good rap is and awards are clearly given out on the votes of the old men who run the business casting ballads for someone that their white niece or nephew may have listened to. Again this is me being rude but the fact that Iggy Azelia was added to the RAP category for NO REASON cements my point. If she had won a Grammy this year the internet would have caught fire. Eminem ended up winning (which is better than Iggy) but he did not have the best album. Another problem with the way that awards are set up is that the Grammys are hilariously bad at staying current. Childish Gambino's album 'Because the Internet' came out in 2013 and was nominated for a 2015 Grammy. That makes literally no sense. All you have to do is push the Grammys further back into the year so that you can catch year end albums. I think their cut off date is somewhere in October which is awful the more you think about it. Have a music celebration that actually represents the music of the previous year? No of course not, lets stick to this antiqued process of making people angry. It is bad enough that Macklemore beat Kendick for best Rap Album (I dig the Heist but come on), but you put yourself in a situation where this is bound to keep happening. It is almost like you actually know nothing about rap music and care not for its fan base. Rap is now one of the most popular and influential music styles on the planet and the piss poor representation of it during the Grammys is laughable. Gambino or Q should have won the award and that is that. Kendrick rightfully won best rap song and performance for 'I' so that is a start (although I was rooting for Gambino for best performance). It just sets a bad precedent when you reward the wrong kind of talent. Eminem is legendary yes, but the man's work did not compare to two of the other albums up for the award. I could drone on and on but I think you understand my point of view. Let people who know a certain genre of music well pick the winners and you won't have this problem.

On the plus side I love the recognition of music giants at the Grammys, people who have paved the way for new festivals, musical scores, and ways of presenting and sharing music. I also enjoyed the slideshow of musicians who passed because it is important to remember where the music we love comes from. It just saddens me that you have some of the BEST musicians, artists, producers, and actors all together in one place for one night and you cannot easily blow me away. I want the Grammys to be a true testament of what it means to love music and appreciate good music. I want the right albums to be awarded so people understand more of what it means to be a good artist. I want appeal not to just be mainstream but universal, because music is universal. I want Kanye to NEVER be allowed to sit near the front again (like come on guy, I know it is a joke but please). I like the idea of the Grammys, I love seeing cool performances and finding new music to listen to, lets just tighten up the presentation and format of the show a bit so the celebration can actually be a celebration and not just some predictable unafraid to take too many risks music show.

Thoughts On: Pinata

Recommended Listening: Deeper, Shitsville, Robes

So just a short aside today one of my favorite animators, Monty Oum, passed away over the weekend. I am completely aware that only 3 people (if that) reading this will know who that is but I was considering not putting up a Thoughts On just because when I think too much I cannot bring my self to write anything that isn't super introspective and mildly depressing. But Monty had a legendary work ethic and it would be dishonorable to not put out content in remembrance of him, he would demand the opposite.

Alright back to the music. Pinata is another (and hopefully the last) of the the greatest hits I missed in 2014. Coming out in the earlier half of 2014 this album is another collab that lead to a modern classic. The collaborators this time are Indiana rapper Freddie Gibbs and one of the most acclaimed producers in hip-hop Madlib. Sound familiar? There seems to be a trend of older hardcore rappers working directly with great veteran producers to make a fantastic album out of nowhere. However these two have been at it since 2011, releasing a string of EP's consisting of songs that would later appear and laid the foundation for a neo-gangster rap album that feels like it is one of lost gems of the late 90's-00's. I do not use the term “lost gem” lightly, the only reason I was able to find this album is via browsing so many top pf 2014 lists and the hip-hop heads subreddit and seeing multiple people claiming this as the best thing to come out all year (a bold claim considering its March Release). So with my interest sparked I went to look up more info on the album and was instantly intrigued by the album cover and concept. Freddie described it as “A gangster blaxploitation film on wax” with Madlibs commenting on the human element of his producing to compliment Gibbs style. These two gentlemen have experience in the musical field of course, but this albums strikes a personal cord with me and hits on all the reasons why I hold hip-hop as such a universal music genre.

So what is the deal? What is Pinata and why should you care? Well do you remember memories of sitting in the backseat of your mothers car as she blasts soul music and sings along, hitting every note and smiling the whole way? If not that is a mute point and I digress, but to a lot of my fellow African-American readers I am sure this sounds at least a bit familiar. Our culture has always thrived on music, from slave hymns to Blues to Jazz to Soul to Funk and now Hip-Hop. This album is a reflection of a man who has grown up listening to an older era of music yet also leads a very cliché movie like gangster lifestyle. Its narratives often involve explicit tales of sexual encounters, drugs, and violence. Sounds like the typical negative depiction of rap, but as you open your mind and start to listen to the lyrics more and more you hear stories of heart break, a song dedicated to Gibbs favorite wing restaurant, to hometown pride, and family conflict. This is a man bearing his sole song after so to tell a story of a classic gangster. I am talking Adidas jumpsuit, Cadillac, gold chain, cruising on a sunday afternoon gangster. In a sense this whole album is a send up to a particular kind of neighborhood and a particular culture and if you do not get it then it just seems like an amazing album with fast lyrics and melodic instrumentation and production. However if you get it, it clicks as a dark reminder black culte and also a beautiful homage to soulful tunes. Just about every song opens up with a melodic intro and smooth drops that transition into Freddie's 2 pac-esque lyrics and guest appearances. Most Songs flow into each as if they are meant to be experienced in one sitting whilst others have skits at the end of them meant to comment on the lifestyle being portrayed in the music.

To get into specific this is the kind of album that should have come out of the “Golden Age” of hip-hop. This along with classics like Illmatic, Liquid Swords, Me against the world, etc. This album does not mean to succeed off it's nostalgia factor but I cannot help but think how ground breaking this would have been 20 years ago. This is the kind of style you can see rappers like Kendrick and Logic drawing inspiration from, when people say they are trying to make an old school song they are trying to make this sound. All the while in songs like “Higher” and “Shame” (to name a few) the duo bust out this golden sound so easily it seems effortless. In sounds like “Deeper” you get to hear how a drug dealer loses out on his girl when he goes off to prison and how he deals with her having a kid with another man. In “Harolds” Gibbs slings the story of mischief he would get into all while using a chicken restaurant as a focal point in a sort of reminder of younger times. It is just amazing how out its time this album is, and kind of disappointing that many people will mark it off as a rip off of a golden sound when in reality these two are just masters of a craft that we have not seen in awhile.

 This album reminds of walking downstairs on Sundays and listening to soul music as my mom made breakfast, of long car rides and smooth R&B playing throughout, of my father and his love for old school rap, and of a type of sound that the brings you back to the grand days of West Cost rap. I hope these two put out more work and pave more of a road for hip-hop duos to be creative and use melodic production as not only a backdrop but a common theme through out the whole back drop. This album feels like a missing link between the golden and modern ages of hip-hop and is an instant classic in my eyes. Next week I will be talking about Joey Bada$$' new album and how that plays off of the old East Coast sounds to make something new, but this is different entirely. I recommended you all: Listen to this album soon so you can experience what I have and get as lost in the beautiful as I was. Freddie Gibbs and Madlib should feel proud for making what is undoubtedly one of the most unique and overall best albums from 2014 that I did not get to hear in time.

Thoughts On: Run The Jewels 2

Recommended Listening: Blockbuster Part 1, Angel Duster

Welcome back to Thoughts On, this week we will be talking about another one of my huge mistakes from 2014. After making the Hip-Hop list I could not help but search out other year-end top lists and see if any of our results stacked up. Granted websites like Complex, XXL, and Spin (which I have a huge personal gripe with) had way more albums on their list because their job is to listen to music year round; but I still was delighted to know that almost all the albums I listened too were on best of lists in some capacity. To me this signaled that I was pretty good at keeping up with the trendy music and filtering out all the garbage, so imagine my surprise when I see this album called 'Run The Jewels 2' getting critical acclaim and I have never even heard of it. Now for reference when I say critical acclaim I mean CRITICAL ACCLAIM, this 11-track album got a 89 Metacritic and jaw dropping scores all across the music world. I hadn't seen statistics this high since Kendrick Lamar. Even Hot 97 (one of the worlds biggest Hip-Hop radio stations) was raving about the album, and their personalities are comically known for not agreeing on things such as this.

So what exactly is Run The Jewels 2? Well for starters it is the second album in the lineup, with the first being 'Run The Jewels' (which also was very well received), and the albums are made by a rap duo known as, wait for it, Run The Jewels. Pretty simple to remember yes? So with that aside WHO is RTJ? Well the duo consists of El-P ( who has been a major producer in underground hip-hop for years and is a well respected veteran) and Killer Mike (a rapper who made his debut with Outkast in the early 00's and has steadily made his own name in the industry, with a few acclaimed albums under his belt). Both of these two have been in the game for decades and have been collaborating together for years. They made an album in 2012 called 'R.A.P music' which was released to rave reviews, and presumably after that they decided to form a duo and drop some of the hottest albums in 2013 and 2014.

Now onto the important question: how did this duo's album come to be known as an “instant classic” in most circles? The answer lies in what a lot of people consider to be “fundamental” Hip-Hop (I put fundamental in quotes simply because times change and you don't have to have this certain mindset to love this album). This albums is hard. The duo spares no expenses and they hold no punches, this album is a culmination of the classic competitive nature of Hip-Hop. Back when what you said was all you had and you couldn't just say you were number one, you had to live and breathe it. RTJ 2 starts, picks up, gets more and more intense, and never stops. From the first song 'Jeopardy' you get a heavy build up of the duo going back and forth and lyrically showing you why they are the best at what they do. From there each song plays off the last with El-P's production getting crazier and more twisted, a perfect backdrop for the duo's anarchist murder infused lyrics. However this is not just some mindless fight/hype music. In the course of the album they talk about uniting against the police, their roots, how religion is used to control many, and how we should all be dishonest just like the government that is responsible for this country. It is amazing how many complex thoughts they were able to squeeze in as they were rapidly firing off lyrics at an impressive speed. Even in songs like 'All my life' where things start slow, the level is raised to just an that over the top amount so that you can still crank up the music and physically feel the bass in your body.

While the J.Cole's and the Kendrick Lamar's have had the smooth/instrumental Hip-Hop game on lock for awhile, the harder more aggressive side of the music has either been lost or poisoned. Rappers like Waka and French Montana creating what have become known as bangers when real bangers are the kind of songs you find RTJ producing. Hard enough to dance to, to pump you up, but also complex enough to make you think. These two have the advantage of being older men who have been in the game long enough to see trends rise and fall and develop their own unique place in rapdom. Also if it helps this album was released under Nas' Mass Appeal record label (the rap legend backed these two gentlemen and that says something). It might take a second for you to warm up to this album if you aren't used to things this intense, but once you break past that barrier you will wrapped up in the hard world of RTJ, competitive abrasive rappers in their prime. Killer Mike and El-P have found the perfect match in each other and I can only hope that their upcoming album RTJ 3 continues to push the envelope and bring some of the fire back to this industry. I give this album the rating of: Listen Soon...like seriously go slap this album.

Thoughts On: Big K.R.I.T's 'CADILLACTICA'

Recommended Listening: Cadillactica

Hello readers and welcome to “Thoughts on”, where I will be giving my horribly unprofessional opinions on things (mostly music) in an attempt to keep myself and you the readers up to date on the entertaining world around us. Jesus that was a sentence. Recently I put out a list with the top 5 Hip-Hop albums of 2014 that a few friends and I made, and it was so fun that I figured I would keep the project going. Apparently I do no think I do enough. So the first few of these Thoughts On's will be on 2014 albums, after that I will try to stay as current as possible.

THIS WEEK we are talking about Big K.R.I.T's 2014 album 'Cadillactica'. From here on I will be referring to the rapper as his real last name, Scott, because typing his stage name is a hassle. I heard this album as part of my mass consumption of 2014 rap and it was the album that caught me most by surprise (I know I have said this about the Pink Print but let me explain). I saw Scott Sophomore year in concert when he was opening up in Syracuse for Macklemore. I had never heard of him before and I was not impressed. The bass heavy over produced performance seemed to have no rhyme or reason and I could not make out any melody or lyrics. Writing this I can see how snobbish this sounds, but considering who I was waiting to see I expected a similar style (they brought out Talib Kweb after Scott and that was more my speed). After listening to this album I realized if I ever meet Scott in person than I owe him a huge apology.

This was one of the most acclaimed studio albums of last year and 30 seconds into the intro I could hear why. This man has master the art of blending smooth music with a fast lyrical style and has crafted an amazing album with it. The blues and jazz riddled album is built around the story of creating a planet (by the name of Cadillactica) and seems to chronicle its progress as its own world. The planet seems to be much like our own and Scott uses it to vent out his frustrations about what the mainstream media wants to see in his music. Granted this is my own interpretation, but Scott has had problems with his music for a awhile now. He is known as one of the best underground rappers in the game but has constantly experimented with sounds in order to be more appealing. After this album I hope that he continues to walk this path of music because this whole album feels surreal. Back in Cali I constanly drive around listening to new music just so I can listen in peace. Doing that with this album I literally felt as though I was drifting through space. In fact the title track of this album (surprise surprise Cadillactica) has been stuck in my head for about three weeks. It is the perfect blend of catchy and musical and hypes me up for life. Other songs such as “Angels” and “Do you love me” have soulful R&B undertones while Scott raps over them with his unique lyrical flair. In “Soul Food” you have him talking about the relatable past of children playing in a front year before a weekly family dinner, only then to go into how those times have passed and that same yard is now empty. Also in order to leave no questions unanswered he also abandons the same planet he just created in the albums last song “Lost Generations” featuring a very controversial Lupe Fiasco verse that you must hear for yourself. This album was clearly an important milestone in Scott's life and he has opened and shut this book before our very ears. This album is like a film, and not just because it was intended to feel that way, but rather because it is so good at subtly making you feel and get lost in its smooth instrumentation.

This album surprised me so much that I immediately made it my job to go through all of Scotts recent music and listen to as much of his work as I can. I found a song of his called “My Trunk” that I remember him performing in Syracuse simply because of the word trunk, and it sounds incredible in it's studio setting. I am a proud man but I am happy to admit when I am wrong and finding this album has helped personally inspire me. This man is as hard a worker as it goods, putting out consistent music while not getting any radio hits, experimenting wit his own sound while staying true to himself. I am not going to rate this album because any rating system I can think of will eventually be ruined with my bias so I will just suggest how you should listen to this. Either Listen Soon, Save for another day, or Skip altogether. Soon, Save, Or Skip. Simple as that. In the Case of Big K.R.I.T's 2014 Cadillactica I suggest you listen as Soon as possible. This album is incredible and deserves to be shared with as many people as possible.

541 Birch Ridge

This is basically a love letter for a house. For context I am a selectively sentimental person. I look back fondly on material possessions and the memories they represent, but I am also aware that without the emotional attachment most things are not worth much. Long story short my Grandma is sick and can no longer live on her own, I have spent the last week or so helping clear out her house, and more specifically today was the last time I got to step foot in her house. We moved out everything and for the first time in 9 years I saw the house as just an empty building, not the second home I had known for so long.

            As I was gathering up garbage and moving things out of the house none of the emotional significance really stuck with me, all I wanted to do was empty the house. My mom has been under stress so it was my job to be the strength. I have moved around 8 times in my life so the site of cardboard boxes and feeling of frustration are not new to me. Each time I have had to watch as my mom struggles to handle things essentially on her own because that is how things have always been. So this time I vowed to be as much as help as I could. As we moved boxes and drove back and forth from my Grandmas house that is about an hour away I never complained. I would do anything for my mom, so I could understand her devotion to hers. But today as we drove to the house my mom brought up that this would be the last time we drove out to this house…

            9 years is like a lifetime for me. As long as I can remember this is the house has been my second home. When I was torn up about leaving my first Pinole house I took solace in 541. Major holidays were spent with me, my mom, and Grammy all gathered in the living room watched the pile of DVD’s we brought or rented so that Grammy could be caught up. I remember all the times mom fell asleep during the movie because she was tired from driving and Grammy and I would always poke fun at her for it. I remember the Mac n’ cheese served that made not eating all day to save space worth it. I remember deserts that were bought by Grammy just to make sure I had something waiting for me when I was there. At night I would go back to my room in the house and just play video games until I got busted for staying up and was told to sleep. I still vividly remember Grammy’s feet shuffling as she made her way to the room to check on me.

            There was an empty box for a Wii memory card sitting on a table in my room there, the box was put there when I brought my Wii over the Christmas I got it and has been laying there ever since. That was in 2007. I threw the box away and only after did I realize that that box has been there almost as long as I have been visiting. This kind of déjà vu type memory flashes kept happening as I cleared junk and slowly all the junk turned into something important. We threw a lot (mostly because I refuse to let my mom hoard things) and afterwards I felt like I just kept throwing away memories. Walking through a near empty living room I was reminded of the time there was an all day Naruto marathon on Cartoon network so I had the TV in the living room and my room on so I could pace back and forth and watch it. Now there was nothing. No TV, no marathon, and no little boy pacing back and forth carefree.

            I understand that this is not the most traumatic thing in the world, but to me one of the only permanent homes I knew just…stopped being that. All the memories, arguments, presents, food, movies, pets, etc. are just gone. My Grammy is now recovering elsewhere and 541 cannot house her anymore. When I went off to college and could only see Grammy on breaks trips to the house were more valuable, simply because I only went a few times a year. I could finally drive up to the house and let my mom relax. I was growing up but still felt like a kid in the presence of the place. Last summer we sold Grammy’s car (which I had known for longer than the house) and that was the same kind of sad on a more minor scale. Things change and nothing lasts forever but I just hate to see this house go. I stayed strong as I looked at the barren shell right before we left, as we watched the garage go down for the last time, as we gave the keys back to the landlord and returned home. I went to visit Grammy on the way back and when she asked about the house I just broke down. It feels like a big chunk of my life is behind me and things will not be the same. I have to go back to school thousands of miles away and things and be left out the loop again. Times like this I regret leaving and wish I could stay to help out…but you cannot look back. I thank you 541 for all you have done for me. in the last few moments of seeing you I saw everything I have done in that house flash before my eyes.

            My Grammy told me as I was crying that she understands all too well the feeling, it was her house after all. She told me that I have started to build a new home in Pinole and in Rochester, filled with family and friends who have my back. I hate to lose 541, which feels like a family member at this point, but I will just have to trust her word. 

             The Star World must continue.

Top 5 Hip-Hop Albums of 2014

           Being a Hip-Hop Head in the internet age is nothing short of amazing and frustrating. On every site, video, and forum you will encounter flame wars over who is the best and why so and so is terrible. On the flip side you get the chance to be exposed to so many different types of artists and sounds that if you ignore all the negative comments what you get is the core of Hip-Hop; you get to learn and explore culture through music. This year I decided to take my love of the music to the next level and create a top 5 list of 2014’s finest Hip-Hop Music. I formulated the idea in summer, but it was not really set in stone until I included two of my best friends and fellow rap lovers Alex & Aiyana into the discussion. However this was no simple task since we all have been listening to an abundance of artists new and old this year, constantly sending each other new music hoping the other would enjoy it. It was in the midst of finals week in December (a great time to get caught up in a new project mind you) that we put an official plan into action (The plan is detailed below this paragraph). So with this in mind we each sifted through a wiki list of all 2014 hip-hop releases which has hundreds of albums, picked a good chunk of music to listen to and just went to town on 2014. There were upsets and debates, and before we get into the actual list I think it is important to understand all of our musical backgrounds. This is NOT an objective list and is a combination of all of our tastes in interests. I love to think that we have good taste in music but if you disagree that is your right. We each put a lot of effort and thought into our own lists and putting them together is no easy feat. We listened to a good 35+ albums to make this list, and anything you could recommend one of us has probably listened to (Ab-Soul, Big K.R.I.T, Common, Isaiah Rashad, Wiz, Eminem, Wu Tang, T.I, Iggy Azalea, and it goes on). Past the Top Five you will see honorable mentions of albums that did not make the list. Let us begin

Here is the process as I posted in the Facebook group I made for the 3 of us:

1.) Come up with your own top 10 list of albums by the time you get home from break (or close to there)

2.) Have reasons why you picked albums because there will be a short write up of each

3.) Send list to other members of this group so we have a chance to maybe listen to albums that we haven’t had the chance to hear yet

4.) We will all meet up in person over break and make this list

for reference here is the list of 2014 hip hop albums: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_in_hip_hop_music#Released_albums

Musical Taste:

Zeke “Zk” Starling- I have grown up around soul, jazz, funk, and early rap for the majority of my life. Childhood consisted of Diana Ross, MJ, Sly and the family stone, Lauren Hill, etc. It was not until I started dancing that I got to develop my own love of rap music. I was always a big fan of Eminem and my mom loved Tupac so of course I drifted to rap with a message or conscious rap. Here I found my love of rap as a form of musical poetry that can be recited over soulful instrumentals to send a personal message or positive vibes with a powerful bass and snare that makes a club banger we can all jam to. As my dancing love grew so did my desire to find more and more music. Now I am as deep in the Hip-Hop world as I have ever been, keeping up with the latest albums, watching interviews, studying chords and sounds within the actual songs (I have been playing music for 10 or so years if that matters) and I think I have a pretty refined taste. A few of my favorite rappers are: Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Chance the rapper, and Logic.

Alex “Trap 3 House” Elms-  I grew up on pretty much everything but hip hop and rap. My early music taste was shaped almost exclusively by movie soundtracks and my dad's collection of 60s-80s rock. I enjoyed the Beatles, The Who, Electric Light Orchestra, and a lot of mainstream pop music that I had heard from various other places. It wasn't until college that I started branching out into rap, hip-hop, and trap music. Thanks to friends, both new from college and old from high school, I had a wealth of suggestions for classics and more recent releases. Once I understood that rap was about more than just songs about big money, drugs, and women, I gained an appreciation for it that I never would have thought possible. I fell in love with the complex narratives, concept albums, and addictive beats that hip hop provided. I started with artists like Kanye, Eminem, and BoB and let my ear go from there. I'm still finding out more about my style as I find more music, but as of now some of my favorite artists are Childish Gambino, Chance the Rapper, Kanye West, Kid Cudi, and Drake.

Aiyana “Shmoney” H.G- I started listening to rap music in middle school, when my favorite rapper was Lil Wayne. The only rap and hip-hop scene I was familiar with at the time centered around they hyphy movement and mainstream rap music. Thanks to friends with broader music tastes, my curiosity to branch out and find new music to fill my one-dimensional itunes selection, and the greater availability and awareness of underground, underappreciated, and alternative hip-hop, my music taste and knowledge has expanded. My favorite rappers list has changed and increased to include Childish Gambino, Logic, J. Cole, Eminem, and Chance the Rapper. I look forward to continuing my music collection and listening to as many artists and styles as possible.

The Top Five

5.)

ScHoolboy Q- Oxymoron. Recommended listening: Collard Greens

            ScHoolboy Q is quite an interesting individual, being part of Black Hippy and TDE along with rappers such as Ab-Soul and Kendrick Lamar you would expect him to be skilled but this album approaches popular rap techniques and practices with a unique flair that gives Q his own sound. The production could easily be something off of any mainstream rappers album but the way Q utilizes instrumentals and infuses his own over the top lyrical style to tell a story of a gangster lifestyle, drug use and addiction, and fatherhood. You can hear snippets of his daughter throughout the album if you listen properly which goes along with Q’s musical style. The album tends to suck you in and before you know it you can hear how Q has create his own niche of the gangster rap story. At first glance he may just seem like a typical rapper but upon a closer listening you can hear a man using hip-hop in a positive way to escape a devilish lifestyle. This is also a 2015 Grammy Nominee so congrats to Q for getting his work recognized.

4.)

Childish Gambino- STN MTN/Kauai. Recommended: Dream & Retro

          All three of us love Gambino, he is such a talented individual who has been able to release quality work every year since 2008. However the reason this isn’t higher on the list is because it requires being a Gambino fan to truly appreciate. That is not to say you won’t like any song unless you are a prior fan, this is a good collection of music one way or another. But to truly understand the context of this release and how it fits into the complex multimedia narrative you need to listen to his other work. This album is all about the transition of a character from their fictional dream life running the Atlanta rap scene to that same character waking up having to reminisce on better times past. This is probably one of the most original ideas I have ever encountered in rap, because it stems from an ongoing story told partially through music, but it hold up as its own project. This has everything from Gambino spitting over famous southern rap songs, to beautiful spoken word and insight, and Bino’s amazing vocal prowess. Listen to the songs and see if you like them, then do yourself a favor and start from the beginning of Gambino’s albums and discover the genius that is Donald Glover.

3.)

Nicki Minaj- The Pink Print. Recommended: All things go

            This album is one the reasons I have such a problem with how the Grammys are run. The cutoff dates for nominations is somewhere in November so things that come out in the last two months are just forgotten about or left alone until the next year (The Heist was released in 2012 and won best rap album of 2013 in 2014). This album took me by surprise so much so that it prompted me to recruit Alex to officially starting this list. We were both up until 3am listening to this album shocked by how honest and good it was. Now Nicki Minaj is probably best known for work such as Anaconda and Super Bass, either hyper sexual or pop like music that most people write off as shallow. However Nicki’s albums show a side of realness that she publicly never shows. She commands power and carries herself high but the Pink Print shows she is vulnerable just like the rest of us. In fact the recommended song is the title track off the album because right from the beginning she draws you in with smooth sounds and meaningful lyrics. Her style of music does have heavy influence of pop, bit it is done so in such a way that it still carries positive messages or honesty. This album has club bangers, smooth musical jams, and there is a track called “Grand Piano” which is just Nicki singing over a piano and violin. This is the artists more prominent showing to date and you owe it to yourself to listen. If more mainstream rap was like this album I would have no problem with the state of hip-hop today. She is one of the most original figures in rap today and after this album I have even more respect for her trying to be a powerful female figure in a male dominated industry.

2.)

Logic-Under Pressure. Recommended: Soul Food

            Logic is one of the best rappers out there right now. Period. I have heard complaints of how this album just recycles themes of a struggle and his broken home life, but Logic’s pure verbal and lyrical ability speak volumes. This is a conceptual rap autobiography that Logic uses to tell a story in his first studio album debut, and what a great tale he weaves. He mixes a relaxed yet fast rap style with serious undertones and dark messages. Gang violence, domestic abuse, drug abuse, etc are all themes covered in full in this album. Logic is clearly a student of hip-hop, with this album being reminiscent of Kendrick’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, with an Eminem flare, and a Gambino style charisma. Logic is no copycat however, he uses what he has learned to develop his own sound, so much so that there are a few tracks on the album that have similar instrumentals. To some this may be a turn off but it goes along with the idea that this is all one story. Logic described this album as his way of talking to everyone whereas his earlier work was directed at his niche fan base. Logic makes a statement and is telling the world he is here and has earned his right to stay. It is rappers like Logic that give me faith in the future of the younger generation of rap artists. From start to finish this is a gripping work (with no featured artists unless you have the deluxe version) because Logic wanted this to show what he could do as a rapper, and I believe he has made quite the impression.

1.) 

 J.Cole- 2014 Forest Hills Drive. Recommended: January 28^th

              Last year I heard J.Cole’s Born Sinner album and it blew my mind. If not for Gambino’s release that album would have easily been my favorite of the year. With that in mind I had huge hopes for this project, especially since I had no idea it was coming until a few weeks before it dropped. When I first saw the track list I was underwhelmed, this was not going to have nearly as much music as his previous work and that worried me. This all changed when I heard the beautiful intro with the thoughts of “do you wanna be happy?” floating around in my mind. All three of us had this album in our own top 5 lists (Alex and Aiyana had it as number 1 and I had it at 3), so it was no surprise when made its way to the top of our collective list. My “low” rating aside this album is a masterpiece that shifts the focus to a personal look at Cole’s life and how came to be where he is now. Usually rappers do this as a first project but Cole took the time to step back and paint a gorgeous narrative in what could be seen as a daring move. This is Not Born Sinner, it is a new work that is musically spilt into 3 Acts, with the production and lyricism following suite and shifting with the story. The album becomes more musical when it needs to be and more lyrical when the story demands it. You find yourself getting sucked into the honesty of the work and how smooth it plays out. The last song is a 13 minute credit song where Cole thanks all the people he has worked with and even then you are just memorized by the background instrumentals and you appreciate the work he has put in. Cole is an intelligent conscious rapper who shows just how far he has traversed in his own life. He has come a long way from trying to make a radio single and this album shows that he is now confident in not just his rap ability, but who he is as a person.

Honorable Mentions!

Zeke: Mick Jenkins- The Water[S]

            Chicago has produced some of the finest rappers in the game. From legends like Common and Kanye to newcomers like Vic Mensa and Chance. This year I caught wind of new mixtape that dropped from another Chicago native: Mick Jenkins. Now out of the 3 of us I was the only one who put this album on our personal top 10 lists, and I stand by the idea that this mixtape is amazing. It carries the theme of water as an entity that we are lacking in our lives and creates songs around the idea of relaxation, finding ourselves, and Jenkins personal experiences in the music industry. It is clear that Jenkins has a message to send with songs like “Martyrs” and he wishes to bring awareness with his unique soulful/jazzy sound.

Alex: IAMSU! Sincerely Yours

This album brings a fresh West Coast flavor in his studio debut. While the album itself is noteworthy overall, 'Su's collaboration tracks are the most outstanding. E40, Wiz Kalifa, and 2Chainz all lend their talents but don't distract from 'Su's raw talent on tracks like "I Love My Squad" and "Martina." As a relatively new artist, IAMSU! leaves a lasting impression that I look forward to hearing more from.

Aiyana: Azelea Banks- Broke With Expensive Taste

Although the tone of her voice appears consistent and similar throughout the album, each song offers a different musical style. From a fast, mellow trance to an upbeat Spanish flare, Azealia Banks brings sounds that contrasts what you're used to hearing on the radio

BONUS:

So if you have read this far then congrats you have finished our list! As a little bonus we give you just a few more songs to listen to if you are interested. 2014 was an amazing year in Hip-Hop and we all cannot wait to see what 2015 has in store.Big thanks to Alex and Aiyana for making this possible!!

Best Single of 2014: Chance the Rapper and the Social Experiment- Sunday Candy

https://soundcloud.com/donnietrumpet/donnie-trumpet-the-social-experiment-sunday-candy

Best Hip-Hop Performance: Kendrick Lamar- Snl I love myself

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sop2V_MREEI